Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California protect nearly 139,000 acres of ancient coast redwood forest, home to some of the tallest trees on Earth including Hyperion, the world's tallest known living tree at over 380 feet. Families come specifically to walk among old-growth giants along trails like the Lady Bird Johnson Grove loop and to spot Roosevelt elk grazing in the Elk Prairie meadows. The park's combination of towering forests, rugged Pacific coastline at Enderts Beach, and wild rivers makes it one of the most visually dramatic family destinations in the American West.
Annual holiday tree lighting ceremony in downtown Redwood City with carolers, seasonal activities, and visits from Santa Claus
💡Arrive 30 minutes early to get a good view of the tree and ensure kids can meet Santa without a long wait
Redwood Shores Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Apr
Community Easter egg hunt hosted at Redwood Shores with age-divided hunt areas, crafts, and a visit from the Easter Bunny
💡Register in advance as spots fill quickly; bring a basket and arrive early for check-in
🔄 Recurring Activities
Redwood City Farmers Market
Sat · Jan–Dec
Year-round Saturday farmers market in downtown Redwood City offering fresh local produce, artisan goods, prepared foods, and flowers
💡Go before 10am for the freshest produce and shortest lines; kids love the sampling opportunities at fruit stands
Redwood City Public Library Family Storytime
Wed · Jan–Dec
Weekly storytime at Redwood City Main Library featuring picture books, songs, and simple crafts aimed at children ages 2 through 6
💡Sessions fill up fast so arrive a few minutes early; the library also has a great children's section for browsing afterward
Red Morton Community Park Weekend Recreation Programs
Sat · Mar–Nov
Weekend drop-in and registered recreation programs at Red Morton Community Park including youth sports, playground activities, and nature exploration
💡The park's large playground and open fields are free to use anytime; check the city recreation catalog for scheduled programs requiring registration
San Francisco Bay Trail Family Walk and Ride
Sun · Jan–Dec
The paved Bay Trail segment through Redwood Shores offers a flat, scenic route along the bayfront ideal for family walks, bike rides, and wildlife spotting
💡Sunday mornings are quieter with fewer commuter cyclists; bring binoculars for bird watching along the tidal marshes
Planning Your Visit
▶📅 Best Time to VisitJuly through September offers the driest weather…
July through September offers the driest weather and best trail conditions, with temperatures in the 55–70°F range under the forest canopy — cool enough for hiking without summer heat exhaustion. Late June can still bring coastal fog ('June Gloom') that socks in the coastline. September is the sweet spot: fog clears, summer crowds thin after Labor Day, and elk are active. Avoid November through March unless you love rain — the park receives 60–100 inches annually and many unpaved roads close seasonally.
▶✈️ Getting ThereThe nearest commercial airport is Arcata-Eureka …
The nearest commercial airport is Arcata-Eureka Airport (ACV), about 40 miles south of Orick and the park's southern entrance, with connecting flights through San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX). From San Francisco, expect a 5.5–6 hour drive north on US-101. From Portland, Oregon, it's approximately 4.5 hours south on US-101. From Sacramento, plan for about 5 hours via Interstate 5 to US-299 west to US-101 north.
▶🚶 Getting AroundA car is absolutely essential — the park spans o…
A car is absolutely essential — the park spans over 50 miles of US-101 corridor and there is no internal shuttle system. Strollers work well on the paved Lady Bird Johnson Grove trail loop (1.3 miles) and portions of the Enderts Beach Road picnic area. Most other trails involve roots, mud, and uneven old-growth forest floors that make strollers impractical; a soft structured baby carrier is a far better choice for families with toddlers. There is no public transit serving the park. Parking at popular spots like Fern Canyon requires a timed entry reservation in summer.
▶💰 Budget Estimate (Family of 4)$120–160/day for a family of 4 — covers the $35 park entrance fee (good for 7 days), camping at Jedediah Smith Campground ($35/night), grocery supplies from Crescent City's Safeway for packed lunches and dinners at the campsite, and free ranger-led programs at the Kuchel Visitor Center.
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Budget
$120–160/day for a family of 4 — covers the $35 park entrance fee (good for 7 days), camping at Jedediah Smith Campground ($35/night), grocery supplies from Crescent City's Safeway for packed lunches and dinners at the campsite, and free ranger-led programs at the Kuchel Visitor Center.
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Mid-Range
$280–380/day — includes a mid-range motel room in Crescent City or Eureka ($150–200/night), one sit-down dinner at Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka (a historic lumber camp dining hall serving family-style meals), park fees, and a guided kayak tour on the Smith River through local outfitters.
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Splurge
$550+/day — covers a cabin or glamping accommodation near Klamath, premium gear rental, a guided old-growth forest tour with local naturalists, dinner at restaurants in Arcata's Plaza district, and a chartered fishing or whale-watching excursion from Crescent City Harbor.
Neighborhoods & Areas
▶OrickGateway village, rugged and rusticHome to the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center where ra…
Home to the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center where rangers issue free Fern Canyon shuttle passes, the trailhead for the Gold Bluffs Beach area, and several chainsaw-sculpture shops along US-101 that kids find genuinely entertaining. Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is immediately adjacent.
👶Orick is a tiny unincorporated community with minimal amenities — no stroller-friendly sidewalks, very limited dining (a small market and a few roadside spots). It serves primarily as a staging area. Parking at Kuchel is easy and free. Not a place to base the family overnight.
▶Crescent CitySmall coastal town, practical baseThe Battery Point Lighthouse (accessible on foot at …
The Battery Point Lighthouse (accessible on foot at low tide) offers family tours, and the nearby Ocean World aquarium on US-101 gives kids an interactive marine experience. The harbor area has walking paths with views of offshore sea stacks. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and chain restaurants make logistics easy.
👶Crescent City is the most practical family base with stroller-friendly harbor boardwalk paths, decent parking throughout downtown, and calm noise levels. The lighthouse tidal access requires careful timing and uneven rocky footing — not stroller-friendly. Generally safe and low-key.
▶Jedediah Smith Redwoods AreaDeep forest immersion, sereneStout Grove trail (0.6 miles, nearly flat) places fa…
Stout Grove trail (0.6 miles, nearly flat) places families among some of the largest old-growth redwoods accessible in the entire park system. The Smith River — California's last major undammed river — runs jade-green through the campground and is safe for kids to wade in during summer low-water months. The campground itself has a family-friendly amphitheater for evening ranger talks.
👶The Stout Grove loop is one of the most stroller-accessible old-growth walks in the entire park. Campground roads are paved. The river swimming area near the campground is shallow and calm in summer, ideal for children. Noise is minimal — mostly birdsong and river sounds.
▶KlamathScenic overlook village, quietThe Klamath River Overlook offers dramatic views of …
The Klamath River Overlook offers dramatic views of where the river meets the Pacific — a reliable gray whale viewing spot during migration (December–April and July–October). The Trees of Mystery attraction on US-101 features a gondola ride through the redwood canopy and a large Native American museum that provides meaningful cultural context for the park.
👶Trees of Mystery has paved accessible paths and is genuinely stroller-friendly in its main area. The gondola has minimum height and age considerations for small children — check ahead. Parking is easy and free. Very quiet area overall with minimal traffic noise away from the highway.
▶EurekaVictorian harbor city, culturally richOld Town Eureka's Carson Mansion and waterfront boar…
Old Town Eureka's Carson Mansion and waterfront boardwalk along Humboldt Bay give families a Victorian-era architectural experience unlike anything else on the North Coast. The Blue Ox Millworks offers tours showing Victorian woodworking trades still practiced today. The Humboldt Bay Discovery Center has hands-on marine exhibits and bay kayaking for older kids.
👶Old Town is fairly stroller-friendly on flat sidewalks with good lighting and moderate foot traffic. Some blocks adjacent to the waterfront can feel sketchy at night — stick to the main Old Town corridor. Parking in designated lots is easy and inexpensive. Best family dining options in the entire region are concentrated here.
Local Tips for Families
💡The Fern Canyon loop trail in Prairie Creek Redwoods requires a timed vehicle reservation through Recreation.gov from late May through September — book this the day reservations open at midnight Pacific time, as slots for Davison Road vehicle access sell out within hours. The $12 vehicle fee is separate from park admission.
💡Roosevelt elk herds are most reliably spotted at Elk Prairie meadow (along Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, just north of Orick) in the early morning between 6–8am and again at dusk — rangers at Prairie Creek Visitor Center post a whiteboard each morning showing where herds were last seen.
💡The Stout Grove trailhead near Jedediah Smith requires crossing the Smith River on a seasonal footbridge that is only installed between approximately late May and early October — call the Jedediah Smith Visitor Center at (707) 465-7335 before visiting to confirm the bridge is in place, as the alternate road route adds significant driving distance.
💡Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City offers guided tours only during low tide windows (roughly 2-3 hours on either side of low tide) — check the NOAA tide chart for Crescent City before planning your visit, as the rocky causeway crossing is impassable at high tide and the schedule varies daily.
💡Trees of Mystery on US-101 in Klamath offers a free admission to their Native American museum even if you skip the paid gondola and trail experience — the Paul Bunyan and Babe statues at the entrance are a free photo stop that kids universally love, and the gift shop restrooms are the cleanest on this stretch of highway.
💡The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway (a 10-mile bypass of US-101 through old-growth forest) is free to drive and produces the most dramatic redwood canopy experience accessible by car — pull into the Calf Creek or Big Tree trailhead pullouts for a 100-yard walk to trees that rival anything in the backcountry.
💡Crescent City's farmers market runs on Saturdays from June through October in the parking lot at 2nd and H Streets — it's the best place to buy locally caught Dungeness crab, Humboldt Fog cheese, and fresh berries for a picnic lunch at Enderts Beach, which is only 4 miles south of downtown.
💡The Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick distributes free Junior Ranger booklets that are specifically designed for Redwood National and State Parks and cover both park science and the Yurok Tribe's cultural connection to redwood forest — completing the booklet earns a badge ceremony with a ranger and genuinely engages kids ages 5–12 throughout the visit.
✨Redwood is the only national park where your kids can stand at the base of trees wider than your living room, walk through a literal drive-through tree at nearby Chandelier Tree, and watch a herd of 200-pound Roosevelt elk graze in an open meadow all in the same afternoon.
March through May brings frequent rain, lush green growth, and cool temperatures ranging from 45–58°F. Trails can be muddy and some unpaved roads like Davison Road to Fern Canyon may be closed or require high clearance. Coastal fog is common but the forest smells extraordinary after rain.
▶☀️summer
June through August averages 55–68°F in the forest interior, though coastal areas can be foggier and cooler. Inland areas near Jedediah Smith Redwoods see slightly warmer afternoons around 70–75°F. Dry conditions make trails accessible but popular spots like Fern Canyon require advance reservations.
▶🍂fall
September and October are arguably the best months — temperatures stay in the 55–65°F range, rainfall is minimal, crowds shrink, and Roosevelt elk enter their rut, making Elk Prairie particularly exciting for families. Some rain returns by late October.
▶❄️winter
November through February is the park's rainy season with 6–10 inches of rain per month possible. Temperatures hover between 40–52°F. Many unpaved roads close entirely. The park is nearly empty and genuinely beautiful in the rain, but families need full waterproof gear and should stick to paved interpretive trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best things to do with kids in Redwood?
Top family activities include Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail, Hiouchi Visitor Center, Ranger-Led Redwood Walk, Trillium Falls Trail, Family Nature Photography Walk. Toddler Trip curates age-appropriate activities and builds nap-aware itineraries for your family.
When is the best time to visit Redwood with kids?
July through September offers the driest weather and best trail conditions, with temperatures in the 55–70°F range under the forest canopy — cool enough for hiking without summer heat exhaustion. Late June can still bring coastal fog ('June Gloom') that socks in the coastline. September is the sweet spot: fog clears, summer crowds thin after Labor Day, and elk are active. Avoid November through March unless you love rain — the park receives 60–100 inches annually and many unpaved roads close seasonally.
Is Redwood good for toddlers?
Redwood has a family friendliness score of 6/10. A car is absolutely essential — the park spans over 50 miles of US-101 corridor and there is no internal shuttle system. Strollers work well on the paved Lady Bird Johnson Grove trail loop (1.3 miles) and portions of the Enderts Beach Road picnic area. Most other trails involve roots, mud, and uneven old-growth forest floors that make strollers impractical; a soft structured baby carrier is a far better choice for families with toddlers. There is no public transit serving the park. Parking at popular spots like Fern Canyon requires a timed entry reservation in summer. Toddler Trip filters activities by your children's ages and schedules around nap time.
How much does a family trip to Redwood cost?
Budget travelers: $120–160/day for a family of 4 — covers the $35 park entrance fee (good for 7 days), camping at Jedediah Smith Campground ($35/night), grocery supplies from Crescent City's Safeway for packed lunches and dinners at the campsite, and free ranger-led programs at the Kuchel Visitor Center.. Mid-range: $280–380/day — includes a mid-range motel room in Crescent City or Eureka ($150–200/night), one sit-down dinner at Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka (a historic lumber camp dining hall serving family-style meals), park fees, and a guided kayak tour on the Smith River through local outfitters.. Splurge: $550+/day — covers a cabin or glamping accommodation near Klamath, premium gear rental, a guided old-growth forest tour with local naturalists, dinner at restaurants in Arcata's Plaza district, and a chartered fishing or whale-watching excursion from Crescent City Harbor..
How do I plan a family trip to Redwood?
Use Toddler Trip's free planner: enter your family profile, pick from AI-curated activities, and get a nap-aware day-by-day itinerary with a personalized packing list — all in about 5 minutes.